LONDON — Japan’s Nikko Asset Management is considering acquisitions in such areas as private assets and exchange-traded funds, President Stefanie Drews told Nikkei.
The moves will come as the company aims to roughly double total assets under management to 60 trillion yen ($415 billion) by around 2032. Nikko Asset Management is on track to meeting the target, Drews said.
Nikko Asset Management announced in November an agreement to purchase a minority stake in U.K.-based Osmosis (Holdings), a quantitative investment manager that uses environmental data in stock strategies. Osmosis had roughly $14 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30.
Through the tie-up, Nikko Asset Management seeks to expand the financial products in its lineup and offer the same strategy to investors in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
Nikko Asset Management said in December that it had begun talks on a possible capital tie-up with French investment firm Tikehau Capital.
Nikko Asset Management had nearly 32 trillion yen in assets under management as of Sept. 30. Drews, who became president in 2022, said the company will “need to expand inorganically” in sustainable investment, private assets and ETFs.
Nikko Asset Management is considering multiple potential acquisitions in these areas, according to Drews.
About half of the executives at Nikko Asset Management are not Japanese, including Drews. The diversity in the top ranks led to smooth discussions with Osmosis toward the stake purchase, she said.
Nikko Asset Management is considering whether it needs partners to bolster its sales network in North America, Drews said. In Asia, the company remains interested in establishing a wholly foreign-owned enterprise for asset management in China, she said.
“Political influences can be observed, but ours is a really long-term strategic plan,” Drews said on the topic of geopolitical risks like U.S.-China tensions.
